The celebrations for the Solemnity of Saint John the Baptist, Patron Saint of the Sovereign Order of Malta, began on 27 June 2026 with a Holy Mass at Saint Paul’s Cathedral in Tirana.

The Eucharistic celebration was presided over by H.E. Most Rev. Arjan Dodaj, Metropolitan Archbishop of Tirana-Durrës and Conventual Chaplain ad honorem of the Sovereign Order of Malta. Among those present were H.E. Fra’ Nicolò Custoza de’ Cattani, Grand Prior of Naples and Sicily, Ambassador Stefano Palumbo, members of the Embassy, the first Albanian candidates for admission to the Sovereign Order of Malta, representatives of the Order and faithful of the Archdiocese.

Celebrated on the occasion of the Patronal Feast of the Sovereign Order of Malta, the Holy Mass offered an opportunity to give thanks for the Order’s mission in Albania and to renew its commitment to the values that have guided it for nearly one thousand years: Tuitio Fidei and Obsequium Pauperum.